Gerry Adams to step down as leader of Sinn Féin next year

Gerry Adams is to step down as leader of Sinn Féin next year and will not contest the next election.

In a much-anticipated speech, Mr Adams told around 3,000 delegates attending his party’s Ard Fheis this evening that this would be his last as leader.

The party Ard Chomhairle will meet in two weeks time to decide when the emergency Ard Fheis will take place to decide when Gerry Adams' will be replaced.

Mr Adams received a standing ovation as he made his way onto the podium and again when he announced his departure.

"This is my last Ard Fheis as Uachtarain Sinn Féin," he said, adding Kerry TD Martin Ferris would also be stepping down ahead of the next General Election.

He said he had requested that a special Ard Fheis in 2018 to elect a new leader.

Mr Adams said he had been "very proud" to serve as president but added that he had come here to speak to party members about the "plan for change".

He thanked "everyone who has invited me into your homes and communities" and singled out the people of west Belfast and Louth.

"Leadership means knowing when it is time for change," he said.

Gerry Adams takes to the stage to give his address. Brian Lawless/PA Wire

The 69-year-old TD who played a critical role in the Northern Ireland peace process and in recent years brought electoral success for the party in the South.

Looking back to the 1980’s when he first became involved in politics when "the war in the north was raging" Mr Adams added that the and hunger strikes two years before "dramatically altered" the political landscape and his party had striven to bring about change.

He also paid tribute to the late Martin McGuinness saying "we miss Martin" and singled out his widow and children who were in the audience. He described his death like a "kick in the face".

Some 2,500 Sinn Féin delegates sing ‘Oró sé do bheatha bhaile’ at #SFAF17 as Gerry Adams announces he will be stepping down as leader of Sinn Féin in the coming months - a seminal moment in the history of Irish republicanism #SlanACharapic.twitter.com/eR4F7gyah9

Independent TD Mattie McGrath has been accused of misogyny after saying that the abortion debate isn't over until the fat lady sings, before quipping "and I'm not talking about the chairperson of the Committee or anyone like that".